I can't think of a better forum to pose this question than the legendary Coffeed. I hope there are enough active eyes to see this.

My question is a simple one but perhaps there is no simple answer. I am at a point in my career where I would like to do a bit more than work behind the counter pulling shots (not to diminish the value of that in anyway!) Having just spent the past year as part-owner of a dive bar here in DC I was able to make a lot of connections within the bar and restaurant world that I'm not entirely sure I would have made as a barista. With coffee being my primary passion I figured I'm in a unique position to use those connections to help bridge the gap between specialty coffee and the dining and cocktail industry.

So my question is this: if I were to offer my services, experiences and relationships within the specialty coffee world to help consult bars and restaurants (and even other cafes) "improve" their coffee programs, how exactly do I price that? I don't really know how to determine what the market is because restaurants and bars don't have THAT big a need to value coffee in the same way that cafes do. Luckily, there have been some huge strides made within the past few years with super high end restaurants like Noma in Copenhagen and even here in DC I know La Colombe can be found at a handful of casual/fine dining establishments. The restaurant and bar scene here in DC is expanding exponentially and I think there's an opportunity for the specialty coffee scene (which has been pretty strong here since the Murky days) to grow with it in the eyes of the food world.

I imagine, not being connected to a specific roastery that determining the value of coffee consultancy might be even harder. Does anyone have any experience with this? If so, could you share your experience and any suggestions you may have?